Obama Plans 'Reverse Boot Camp' for Vets

The Transition Assistance Program for US service members leaving the military is getting an overhaul, expanding into what President Obama is calling a "reverse boot camp" for veterans, reports NBC News. TAP's three-day workshop will be expanded to five or seven, with more sessions on career options and financial planning, as well as more individualized guidance. "We'll provide the training they need to find that job, or pursue that education, or start that business," Obama said. "And just as they've maintained their military readiness, we'll have new standards of career readiness."

The unemployment rate for veterans out of Iraq and Afghanistan remains stubbornly high, at 9.5%, although the rate for veterans as a whole is lower than for the country at 7.4%. Obama asked for TAP to be reworked last year, its first major revision in 20 years. The new program should be operational by the end of 2013. (More US military stories.)